Published 10:59 am, Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The March 1 Republican primary will feature three locally contested races, for County Tax Assessor-Collector, Precinct 1 County Commissioner and Hale County Sheriff.

Based on the latest campaign finance reports which were due Feb. 1, the race for sheriff, between incumbent David Mull and challenger Louis Flores, has drawn the most attention from contributors, and has proven to be the most expensive to date.

Mull, in his Feb. 1 report covering the period of Jan. 1-30, listed total contributions of $4,740 against expenditures of $3,449.80. He still had $3,241.78 in campaign funds on hand at the end of the period. In another report filed Jan. 15, Mull reported putting $2,000 in personal funds into his campaign coffers.

Flores, whose report covers Jan. 1-21, listed total contributions of $400 against expenses of $1,488.36. He still had $1,563.31 on hand at the end of the period. Other portions of that report shows that Flores had monetary donations of $748 along with an in-kind donation of $2,101.40, from Felipe Reyna in the form of materials used to build frames for campaign signs. The report also shows a personal loan of $2,000.

In an earlier campaign finance report covering Oct. 12 to Dec. 31, 2015, Flores listed contributions of $100, expenditures of $4,148.53, cash on hand of $951.67, and a personal loan of $5,000.

Harold King, incumbent Precinct 1 county commissioner, filed a report on Jan. 15 showing an individual contribution of $100 with cash on hand of $146.24. He did not itemize the donation and didn’t show any expenses up to that point.

One of his opponents, James Edwards, in his latest report, listed contributions of $100 against total expenses of $324.75. He indicated contributing $224.75 in personal funds to the effort. An earlier report, covering Dec. 14 to Jan. 15, shows expenses of $856.09, all from personal funds, for filing fees as well as printing.

Ralph Langley, also running for Precinct 1 county commissioner, reported contributions of $262 against expenses of $1,290 for Dec. 14 to Jan. 15, and $80 in contributions against $27.80 in expenses from Jan. 6 through Feb. 1.

Roland Nash, incumbent county tax assessor-collector, in a report covering Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, listed expenditures of $1,546.13 with contributions on hand of $57.42. In another report covering July 16, 2015, to Jan. 15, 2016, Nash listed expenses of $750 (election filing fee) with cash on hand totaling $58.42.

His challenger, Debbie Crosby, for the period of Jan. 1-21, reported contributions of $100 against expenditures of $1,234.05. The report listed $100 as cash on hand as well as an outstanding loan of $1,234.05.

According to County Clerk Latrice Kemp, the next campaign finance report by local candidates is due Feb. 22, which is a week before the March 1 primary.

Individual contributions of $100 or more for each candidate, according to their finance reports, include: